Sandra R Levitsky

Sandra R Levitsky is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Associate Professor of Sociology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan, with a courtesy appointment as Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.

Education:

• JD, University of Minnesota
• PhD, University of Wisconsin

Research Interests: Levitsky's work examines how social welfare problems reshape cultural understandings of rights and entitlements in the American context. Her scholarship spans sociology of law, political sociology, and social movements, with current focus on state-funded preschool expansion and institutional responses to campus sexual violence. Her research investigates tensions between public welfare demands and privatization trends in education and social services.

Scientific Awards:

• Arthur F. Thurnau Professor (prestigious University of Michigan award for undergraduate teaching excellence)

Levitsky's book Caring for Our Own: Why There Is No Political Demand for New American Social Welfare Rights (Oxford University Press, 2014) pioneered analysis of why unmet social needs fail to generate demands for new entitlements. Her ongoing research includes longitudinal studies of 380 U.S. colleges addressing sexual violence and analyses of public preschool programs' impact on working families amid education privatization trends.